Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CBS Sports ranks Sherrone Moore below Jonathan Smith, Barry Odom in Big Ten HC rankings

Originally posted on Michigan Wolverines on SI
By Trent Knoop | Last updated Jul 23, 2025 1:52 PM ET

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore is entering his second season as the Wolverines' head coach. While Moore went 8-5 in his first full season at the helm, he has already shown he can win big games. Rewind back to 2023, when Jim Harbaugh was suspended for the final three games of the season, Moore led Michigan to wins at Penn State, at Maryland, and at home against Ohio State.

He also won some big ones in 2024. Wins over USC at home, and back-to-back wins to finish the year at Ohio State and against Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl -- it has fans expecting big things in 2025.

While fans might be expecting big things out of Moore and Michigan, CBS Sports is not high on the second-year coach. In the updated Big Ten coaches rankings, Moore is 15th out of 18 Big Ten head coaches.

"Moore is 2-0 against Ohio State if you include his fill-in performance for a suspended Jim Harbaugh in 2023. That should carry weight, but Moore wasn't overly successful in his first full season as Michigan's coach in 2024. Had the Wolverines fielded a legitimate quarterback, perhaps they could've done more with a defense that ranked top-20 nationally in scoring."

Moore was also ranked 15th last season in CBS Sports' 2024 ranking. Despite finishing with a better record, Moore is behind MSU's Jonathan Smith and Purdue's first-year head coach Barry Odom is also ahead of Moore. While Smith did good things at Oregon State, his first year with the Spartans was less than desired. Odom, on the other hand, also had a good year with UNLV, but Purdue is a whole new task, and he has zero experience being a head coach in the Big Ten.

Here's the full ranking by CBS Sports:

1. Ryan Day - Ohio State
2. Dan Lanning - Oregon
3. James Franklin - Penn State
4. Lincoln Riley - USC
5. Kirk Ferentz - Iowa
6; Curt Cignetti - Indiana
7. Bret Bielema - Illinois
8. PJ Fleck - Minnesota
9. Matt Rhule - Nebraska
10. Jedd Fisch - Washington
11. Luke Fickell - Wisconsin
12. Greg Schiano - Rutgers
13. Jonathan Smith - Michigan State
14. Barry Odom - Purdue
15. Sherrone Moore - Michigan
16. Mike Locksley - Maryland
17. DeShaun Foster - UCLA
18. David Braun - Northwestern